Education Challenges Among Early Career Researchers in Medical Informatics.

There is limited knowledge about early career researchers' challenges when studying the interdisciplinary field of Medical Informatics (MI). We conducted a qualitative content analysis through semi-structured interviews with early career researchers in MI, including individuals pursuing Master's, PhD, and postdoctoral research programmes, across two higher education institutions in the UK. We identified five challenges, including understanding biological jargon, interpreting biological data, interdisciplinary communication, understanding mathematical/statistical concepts, and programming difficulties. These insights and suggested actions to address those challenges can help to improve MI education.

Undergraduate Degree in Medical Data Science: A Conceptual Framework.

The undergraduate degree program in medical data science aims to train future data scientists with a medical lens to tackle healthcare challenges using a data-driven approach. The program is a collaborative effort within the Berlin University Alliance, addressing the lack of healthcare-focused data science education in Berlin and Germany. The curriculum covers mathematics, informatics, medical informatics, and medicine, featuring diverse didactic formats. Graduates will be equipped to lead data science and digital transformation projects in healthcare.

Self-Reported Learning Strategies and Preferences in Health Informatics.

Despite the proliferation of educational programmes in Health Informatics (HI) worldwide, there is limited knowledge regarding students' preferences and learning strategies in HI courses. To address this gap, we conducted a study to gather and analyse data from three HI courses. Employing the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and theories of deep and surface learning, we designed a questionnaire to collect data. The analysis of students' responses indicates that machine learning emerges as one of the most interesting topics, while certain topics such as data wrangling of genomics data were more challenging for students. Students expressed a preference for sequential learning. They exhibited multimodal tendencies regarding the type of learning resources, with tendency to prefer learning resources that have more visual contents. In all three courses, learners reported using deep learning strategy rather than surface learning, yet they appear to struggle with employing organisation, elaboration, and peer learning tactics. This study provides valuable insights into HI education, offering recommendations for educators, learners, and researchers to enhance HI education.

Assessing Health Data Science Internships: A Comprehensive Study at the University of Lille.

Data Science emerged as a new cross-disciplinary discipline at the intersection of statistics, computer science, and expertise in a specific domain, such as health and biology. The data science field, alongside other data-related professions, is continuously evolving. We conducted a study examining tasks assigned to first-year internship students pursuing a Master's degree in Health Data Science, exploring the missions, technologies employed and skills required, and internship alignment with students' training through semi-structured interviews with 32 participants. Three quarters of the students were placed in teams within the public sector. Among these entities, there were 11 hospitals and 12 universities. Although the majority of students did their internship as part of a methodological team, they often had a healthcare professional on their team. Nearly half of the missions involved descriptive analysis, followed by 9 missions focused on etiology or prediction and 8 missions on implementing a data warehouse. The majority of students had to perform data management and produce graphs, while only half conducted statistical analysis. The findings highlighted that data management remains a major challenge, and it should be taken into consideration when designing training programs. In future, it remains to determine whether this trend will continue with second-year students or if, with experience, they are more often assigned statistical analyses.

Analyzing the Efficacy of an Open Access Biomedical Informatics Boot Camp.

Each summer, the University at Buffalo hosts a free, virtual biomedical informatics (BMI) boot camp. Lectures covering various subject matter areas are offered including, but not limited to: machine learning, natural language processing, programming, database queries, clinical decision support (CDS), and public and consumer health informatics. Once the 2023 boot camp had concluded, an anonymous, voluntary survey was offered to everyone who attended. The results of the boot camp were overwhelmingly positive with 70% of the survey participants indicating that they agreed that their expectations were met. 82% of the participants indicated that our JupyterHub and the educational coding materials stored on it are useful tools for the learning process. Qualitative analyses showed a desire for additional hands-on learning over theoretical lectures.

A Quarter-Century of Online Informatics Education: Learners Served and Lessons Learned.

The value and methods of online learning have changed tremendously over the last 25 years. The goal of this paper is to review a quarter-century of experience with online learning by the author in the field of biomedical and health informatics, describing the learners served and the lessons learned. The author details the history of the decision to pursue online education in informatics, describing the approaches taken as educational technology evolved over time. A large number of learners have been served, and the online learning approach has been well-received, with many lessons learned to optimize the educational experience. Online education in biomedical and health informatics has provided a scalable and exemplary approach to learning in this field.

Recommended target audience, course content and learning arrangements for teaching health informatics competencies: A scoping review.

Background: As healthcare depends on health information technology, there is a growing need for Health Informatics competencies in daily practice. This review aimed to explore how the teaching of education in HI has been arranged. 28 publications, published in English between 2016 and 2020 and obtained from selected bibliographic databases, were reviewed. The data was analyzed using deductive content analysis with the following pre-formulated topics: target audience, course content and learning arrangements. The results highlight three key competencies: documentation and communication, management, and understanding of health information technology. It underlines a blended teaching method to improve the competencies of healthcare professionals, graduates, undergraduates, and suggests adding active interactions, multi-professional interactions, and hands-on skills. This study highlights the importance of adapting to changes in healthcare, improving HI competencies in healthcare, and fostering positive digital experiences. It underlined the need for practical training, in theory and hands-on sessions, including key competencies in documentation and communication, management and health information systems.

Supporting Clinical Informatics Competency Development Among the Clinical Informatics Team at Providence Health Care.

Clinical informatics (CI) competencies are crucial for health care organizations to effectively use information communication technologies (ICTs) and deliver quality care. An interdisciplinary CI team can assist organizations with leveraging ICTs, but may also require support. This case study describes a peer-led knowledge translation project designed, delivered and implemented over two years by members of the CI team at Providence Health Care (PHC). The project included CI competencies assessment of CI team members, followed by tailored education for identified knowledge gaps. The Kirkpatrick evaluation model was used to assess three levels of learning among CI team members, including a satisfaction survey, pre-and post-cognitive retention of the education intervention using a validated tool for informatics specialists, and project partner feedback of CI team performance 12 weeks after education completion. This case study provides evidence-informed guidance on 'how to' implement peer-led, practice-based CI training for CI teams.

Integrating Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Indigeneity into an Informatics Curriculum.

In this case study, we present the inclusion of justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigeneity (JEDI-I) principles into a graduate certificate in clinical informatics. We specifically focus on two assignments that were created for the program: 1) journal club, 2) usability evaluation. We found that there was limited description of JEDI-I principles in journal club articles. New criteria for authentic resource evaluation were somewhat met in the usability evaluation of a sexual health website. Incorporating JEDI-I principles into the assignments supported fulsome conversations about end-user of technology in healthcare. Identifying examples of including JEDI-I would strengthen students' experiences in clinical informatics programs.

Evaluating ChatGPT's Performance in the EU*US eHealth Work Foundational Curriculum Using the HITCOMP Self-Assessment Quiz.

This study investigated the performance of OpenAI's Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) in responding to the EU*US eHealth Work Foundational Curriculum. This curriculum, a collaborative effort between European and U.S. institutions, provides an extensive framework for eHealth learning. The assessment involved 321 questions from the online Health Information Technology Competencies (HITCOMP) self-assessment quiz. Using GPT-3.5 model, the study presented each question three times to assess ChatGPT's consistency. Findings revealed an accuracy of 70.7%, indicating a reasonable grasp of eHealth topics, although performance was uneven across the 21 modules. These results underscore ChatGPT's potential in health information technology education and highlight the need for further model enhancements to fully encompass eHealth competencies.

Preparing Future Pediatric Care Providers with a Clinical Informatics Elective.

BACKGROUND: Clinical informatics (CI) has reshaped how medical information is shared, evaluated, and utilized in health care delivery. The widespread integration of electronic health records (EHRs) mandates proficiency among physicians and practitioners, yet medical trainees face a scarcity of opportunities for CI education. OBJECTIVES: We developed a CI rotation at a tertiary pediatric care center to teach categorical pediatric, pediatric-neurology, and medicine-pediatric residents foundational CI knowledge and applicable EHR skills. METHODS: Created in 2017 and redesigned in 2020, a CI rotation aimed to provide foundational CI knowledge, promote longitudinal learning, and encourage real-world application of CI skills/tools. Led by a team of five physician informaticist faculty, the curriculum offers personalized rotation schedules and individual sessions with faculty for each trainee. Trainees were tasked with completing an informatics project, knowledge assessment, and self-efficacy perception survey before and after rotation. Paired t-test analyses were used to compare pre- and postcurriculum perception survey. RESULTS: Thirty-one residents have completed the elective with their projects contributing to diverse areas such as medical education, division-specific initiatives, documentation improvement, regulatory compliance, and operating plan goals. The mean knowledge assessment percentage score increased from 77% (11.6) to 92% (10.6; p ≤ 0.05). Residents' perception surveys demonstrated improved understanding and confidence across various informatics concepts and tools (p ≤ 0.05). CONCLUSION: Medical trainees are increasingly interested in CI education and find it valuable. Our medical education curriculum was successful at increasing residents' understanding, self-efficacy, and confidence in utilizing CI concepts and EHR tools. Future data are needed to assess the impact such curricula have on graduates' proficiency and efficiency in the use of CI tools in the clinical workplace.

Education in Health Informatics: Perspectives from the Italian Society for Biomedical Informatics (SIBIM).

The evolution of socio-technological habits together with the widespread demand of post-acute and chronic treatments outside hospital boundaries drove the increased demand of medical informatics experts to develop tools for and support healthcare professionals. The recent COVID-19 pandemic further highlighted the need of physicians able to manage diseases virtually and remotely. Moreover, healthcare professionals need to access to innovative techniques and procedures to manage biomedical data, cloud-based communication, and data sharing procedures, often connected to innovative devices to support an effective precision in the health treatments. In this paper we report the experiences of the Italian Biomedical Informatics Society (SIBIM), in the definition and promotion of eHealth educational topics in medical and health professions teaching programs, as well as in bioengineering schools, showing how SIBIM members' efforts have been applied towards increasing the level of eHealth contents in medical schools.

[Development of competencies in the Medical Informatics Initiative (MII)-educational offers for a competent and secure handling of medical data]. / Kompetenzentwicklung in der Medizininformatik-Initiative (MII) ­ Lehrangebote für einen souveränen und sicheren Umgang mit medizinischen Daten.

In order to achieve the goals of the Medical Informatics Initiative (MII), staff with skills in the field of medical informatics and data science are required. Each consortium has established training activities. Further, cross-consortium activities have emerged. This article describes the concepts, implemented programs, and experiences in the consortia. Fifty-one new professorships have been established and 10 new study programs have been created: 1 bachelor's degree and 6 consecutive and 3 part-time master's degree programs. Further, learning and training opportunities can be used by all MII partners. Certification and recognition opportunities have been created.The educational offers are aimed at target groups with a background in computer science, medicine, nursing, bioinformatics, biology, natural science, and data science. Additional qualifications for physicians in computer science and computer scientists in medicine seem to be particularly important. They can lead to higher quality in software development and better support for treatment processes by application systems.Digital learning methods were important in all consortia. They offer flexibility for cross-location and interprofessional training. This enables learning at an individual pace and an exchange between professional groups.The success of the MII depends largely on society's acceptance of the multiple use of medical data in both healthcare and research. The information required for this is provided by the MII's public relations work. There is also an enormous need in society for medical and digital literacy.

Understanding IT in Healthcare: Relevance and Training Needs of IT in Private Medical Practice.

BACKGROUND: The integration of Information Technology (IT) into private medical practice is crucial in modern healthcare. Physicians managing office-related IT without proper knowledge risk operational inefficiencies and security. OBJECTIVES: This study determines the relevance of specific IT topics in medical practice and identifies the training needs of physicians for enhancing IT competencies in healthcare. METHODS: In March 2023 a cross-sectional online survey was conducted with physicians comprising nine IT-related topics in Tyrol, Austria. RESULTS: The survey results highlighted a strong perceived relevance and high demand for IT education among physicians working in their medical practice, especially in areas of core medical IT and security. The majority of responses indicated high relevance (76.7%) and high demand (69.7%) for IT topics in medical practice. CONCLUSION: The findings underscore a significant need for targeted IT training and support in medical practices, particularly in areas related to the medical practice and security. Addressing these needs could lead to improved healthcare delivery and better management of technological resources in the healthcare sector.

Discovering the importance of health informatics education competencies in healthcare practice. A focus group interview.

BACKGROUND: As healthcare and especially health technology evolve rapidly, new challenges require healthcare professionals to take on new roles. Consequently, the demand for health informatics competencies is increasing, and achieving these competencies using frameworks, such as Technology Informatics Guiding Reform (TIGER), is crucial for future healthcare. AIM: The study examines essential health informatics and educational competencies and health informatics challenges based on TIGER Core Competency Areas. Rather than examine each country independently, the focus is on uncovering commonalities and shared experiences across diverse contexts. METHODS: Six focus group interviews were conducted with twenty-one respondents from three different countries (Germany (n = 7), Portugal (n = 6), and Finland (n = 8)). These interviews took place online in respondents' native languages. All interviews were transcribed and then summarized by each country. Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis framework was applied, which included familiarization with the data, generating initial subcategories, identifying, and refining themes, and conducting a final analysis to uncover patterns within the data. RESULTS: Agreed upon by all three countries, competencies in project management, communication, application in direct patient care, digital literacy, ethics in health IT, education, and information and knowledge management were identified as challenges in healthcare. Competencies such as communication, information and communication technology, project management, and education were identified as crucial for inclusion in educational programs, emphasizing their critical role in healthcare education. CONCLUSIONS: Despite working with digital tools daily, there is an urgent need to include health informatics competencies in the education of healthcare professionals. Competencies related to application in direct patient care, IT-background knowledge, IT-supported and IT-related management are critical in educational and professional settings are seen as challenging but critical in healthcare.

Perspectives on the implementation of health informatics curricula frameworks.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the necessity of equipping health professionals with knowledge and skills to effectively use digital technology for healthcare delivery. However, questions persist about the best approach to effectively educate future health professionals for this. A workshop at the 15th Nursing Informatics International Congress explored this issue. OBJECTIVE: To report findings from an international participatory workshop exploring pre-registration informatics implementation experiences. METHODS: A virtual workshop was held using whole and small group interactive methods aiming to 1) showcase international examples of incorporating health informatics into pre-registration education; 2) highlight essential elements and considerations for integrating health informatics into curricula; 3) identify integration models of health informatics; 4) identify core learning objectives, resources, and faculty capabilities for teaching informatics; and 5) propose curriculum evaluation strategies. The facilitators' recorded data and written notes were content analysed. RESULTS: Fourteen participants represented seven countries and a range of educational experiences. Four themes emerged: 1) Design: scaffolding digital health and technology capabilities; 2) Development: interprofessional experience of and engagement with digital health technology capabilities; 3) implementation strategies; and 4) Evaluation: multifaceted, multi-stakeholder evaluation of curricula. These themes were used to propose an implementation framework. DISCUSSION: Workshop findings emphasise global challenges in integrating health informatics into curricula. While course development approaches may appear linear, the learner-centred implementation framework based on workshop findings, advocates for a more cyclical approach. Iterative evaluation involving stakeholders, such as health services, will ensure that health professional education is progressive and innovative. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed implementation framework serves as a roadmap for successful health informatics implementation into health professional curricula. Prioritising engagement with health services and digital health industry is essential to ensure the relevance of implemented informatics curricula for the future workforce, acknowledging the variability in placement experiences and their influence on informatics exposure, experience, and learning.

Preparing Pharmacists for the Digital Age: How Pharmacy Courses are Adapting to Challenges and Opportunities.

OBJECTIVE: As the digitalization of health accelerates, the fusion of pharmacy and informatics becomes crucial. Pharmacy education must adapt to equip professionals for this evolving landscape. This study aims to compare pharmacy curricula in Brazil and the United States of America, focusing on health informatics, to uncover challenges and opportunities in training pharmacists for the digital era. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive analysis was conducted on pharmacy curricula from leading Brazilian and American universities in early 2024. Two independent researchers collected data, concentrating on health informatics-related courses. Curriculum analysis used the n-gram technique for linguistic pattern identification in course descriptions. RESULTS: The analysis included curricula from 147 Brazilian and 140 American institutions. American programs had more health informatics courses, with greater integration into pharmacy and higher workloads. Brazilian courses were fewer, less specialized, and less integrated with pharmacy practice. Bi-gram analysis showed that the United States emphasized pharmaceutical practice and technologies, while Brazil focused more broadly on public health. Challenges include Brazil's slower integration of health informatics, impacting competitiveness. The study highlights opportunities to enhance curricula in both countries, emphasizing the importance of health informatics courses. CONCLUSION: US pharmacy programs are further developed by providing specialized, high-quality digital health education with extensive coursework, reflecting a curriculum aligned with digital advancements. This stands in stark contrast to Brazilian programs, which show a need for comprehensive curriculum revision to effectively prepare pharmacists for the digital age. This study underscores the urgency for global pharmacy education reform and its alignment with the rapid evolution of digital health.

Prototipo de multimedia educativa para la enseñanza-aprendizaje de los indicadores del recurso cama hospitalaria. Cuba, 2020 / Educational Multimedia Prototype for teach-learn Indicators of Hospital Bed Resource. Cuba, 2020

Introducción: En la Facultad de Tecnología de la Salud se estudia la carrera Sistemas de Información en Salud que incluye en su plan de estudios diversas asignaturas como Sistemas de Información de Estadísticas de Salud, en la que se incluye el estudio de los indicadores hospitalarios del recurso cama; materia que se imparte de forma tradicional y no tiene una herramienta tecnológica de apoyo que facilite el proceso educativo. Objetivo: Diseñar un prototipo de multimedia educativa que favorezca el auto-aprendizaje de los indicadores del recurso cama hospitalaria en la asignatura Sistemas de Información de Estadísticas de Salud de la carrera Sistemas de Información en Salud. Método: Se realizó un estudio de desarrollo tecnológico donde fueron encuestados estudiantes y se entrevistó a la profesora de la asignatura para la obtención de la información. Se utilizó la metodología de Proceso Unificado de Desarrollo y el Lenguaje Unificado de Modelado. Se emplearon las herramientas Visual Paradigm para el modelado, Axure para la creación del prototipo y Mediator para el futuro diseño de la multimedia. Resultados: Se identificaron los problemas de aprendizaje desde la visión de alumnos y profesores, lo que permitió diseñar el prototipo de multimedia educativa sobre los indicadores hospitalarios del recurso cama, que fue considerado útil y pertinente. Conclusiones: Se diseñó un prototipo de multimedia educativa que de manera combinada con el método actual de enseñanza facilitarán y efectuarán de forma dinámica las actividades en el proceso docente educativo(AU)

Introduction: Health Information Systems career is included In the Faculty of Health Technology; the career have in its curriculum subjects as Health Statistics Information Systems, in which the study of hospital resource bed indicators is carried out; the subject is taught in a traditional way and does not have a technological support tool that facilitates the educational process. Objective: To design an educational multimedia prototype that favors self-learning of the indicators of the hospital bed resource in the Health Statistics Information Systems subject of the Health Information Systems career. Method: A survey of students and interview of teachers permitted to obtain the information needed to carry out a study of technological development using Unified Development Process methodology and Unified Modeling Language; Visual Paradigm tools were used for modeling; Axure for prototyping and Mediator for future multimedia design. Results: there were identified learning problems from the perspective of students and teachers, which allowed the design of the educational multimedia prototype on hospital bed resource indicators, considering it useful and pertinent. Conclusions: The design of the educational multimedia prototype, combined with the current teaching method, will facilitate and dynamically carry out the activities in the educational teaching process(AU)

La educación de adolescentes en higiene bucal mediada por las Tecnologías de la Información y las comunicaciones / Adolescents oral hygiene education by means of information and communication technologies

RESUMEN Fundamento: En la actualidad se necesita incorporar las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones (TIC) para contribuir al perfeccionamiento de la educación de los adolescentes en higiene bucal. Objetivo: Identificar conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas de los adolescentes sobre higiene bucal mediadas por las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones. Metodología: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal entre septiembre de 2020 y enero de 2021. Se seleccionaron 174 adolescentes de 7.mo del municipio Jatibonico mediante asignación aleatoria. Se estudiaron las variables: higiene bucal, nivel de conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre higiene bucal mediadas por las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones. Se utilizaron métodos del nivel teórico, empírico (encuesta, entrevista y observación) y estadístico. Resultados: Se constató una higiene bucal Deficiente en el 77 % de los adolescentes estudiados, el 64.9 % presentó un Bajo nivel de conocimientos de higiene bucal mediado por las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones y el 72.4 % prácticas Inadecuadas, sin embargo, el 77 % mostró actitudes Favorables relacionadas con este tema. Conclusiones: Se identificó más de la tercera parte de los adolescentes con higiene bucal Deficiente, con predominio de conocimientos Bajos y prácticas Inadecuadas relacionado con la salud bucal mediada por las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones, aunque predominaron las actitudes favorables.

ABSTRACT Background: At current days, is a need to include information and communication technologies (ICT) to contribute to improving adolescents' oral hygiene education. Objective: To identify knowledge, attitudes and practices of adolescents on oral hygiene by means of information and communication technologies. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2020 to January 2021. A total of 174 adolescents from 7th grade from Jatibonico municipality were selected at random. Variables studied: oral hygiene, level of knowledge, attitudes and practices on oral hygiene by means of information and communication technologies. Theoretical, empirical (survey, interview and observation) and statistical methods were used. Results: Deficient oral hygiene was found in 77 % of the adolescents studied, 64.9 % presented a Low level of knowledge on oral hygiene by means of information and communication technologies and 72.4 % Inadequate practices, however, 77 % showed Favorable attitudes related to this topic. Conclusions: More than one third of adolescents were identified with Poor oral hygiene, with predominance of Low knowledge and Inadequate practices related to oral health by means of information and communication technologies, although Favorable attitudes predominated.